Astrology on Astrotheme : frequently asked questions

Here is a hotchpotch of questions which we had to deal with. In order to make our website user-friendly, we have decided to provide you with the answers here.

I don't seen anymore the charts on Astrotheme, why?

If you use Kaspersky, update it in the latest version, or select the whole site (www.astrotheme.com/) as a safe site. If you use the new IPad, you need to set cookies to be accepted "always" (not "from visited"). This appears to be a change within the latest iOS and the default settings.

How to search a celebrity on Astrotheme?

Celebrity search - the red window - now includes the content of biographies, in addition to the name or surname. You can type a name, a date, a song, a movie, a place etc. For instance, type up: Abbey Road, Honky Tonk Women, Mission Impossible, Blade Runner, Kill Bill etc.

What are the new features of the planetary dominants calculation since the last update?

With the benefit of several years hindsight about the on-line planetary dominants calculation on Astrotheme, we have improved our adjustments so as to more closely match the reality of the natal charts analysed, particularly those of people we know and the numerous celebrities of our database whose biography is widely known (about 45,000 as of today). Compared with the previous version of the astrological portrait, the main improvements are as follows:

- increased weight (influence) of the Ascendant's sign and slight increase of the Midheaven's weight. This effect directly translates into a possible modification of the order of dominant signs, and indirectly likewise for the ten other dominants,

- increased influence of angular planets posited in the DS or the FC, since it was a little bit under-evaluated compared with the AS and the MC,

- slightly decreased intrinsic weight of non personal planets, Jupiter and Saturn, and more significantly decrease intrinsic weight of trans-Saturnian planets, namely Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Planets play out according to their influence in the chart, which results in the sum of several factors: their intrinsic weight (in a chart, luminaries are more important than fast-moving planets, themselves more important than slow-moving planets), and a system of plus – minus which depends on their position in angular house (closeness to the four angles), their dignity, their activity (a planet having numerous aspects radiates more strongly and has a strengthened influence), etc.

These adjustments fine-tune the calculations of the 11 dominants of the astrological portrait which is on sale on Astrotheme. The same holds true for the tens of thousands of on-line pages where excerpts of famous people's psychological portrait are displayed with their planetary dominants. It seems to us that the results reflect the reality more closely than before. Some special cases with a cluster of planets are better processed, particularly.

We have also enhanced the graphs for the diagrams of dominants, as shown by the examples at the bottom of the astrological portrait's description.

How to compute one's astrological compatibility, or that of one's profiles, with all the celebrities included in Astrotheme's database?

There are two ways: with our Celestar, or directly on each celebrity's page by clicking on the heart icon. In both cases, it is simpler to be logged in and to automatically use the profiles that you have previously created in your account, in the Member's area, without having to enter their birth data.

With the Celestar: click on the Your Profile button, and select the profile you are interested in, click on Continue, and validate. Then, select any celebrity among the vignettes displayed on the page, or do a search, and click on the button Star2, on top of the card of the celebrity chosen. The compatibility result is displayed on the central page of the Celestar.

On any celebrity's page, there is a heart icon. Hover your mouse over it to see all your profiles. Put your mouse's pointer on the birth profile you want, and click on it. The result is displayed.

We also put at your disposal a free application to compute the compatibility between two persons. It is not as fine-tuned as the Celestar or the method using the heart icon, since the latter takes into account the time and location. The Love Test identifies key conjunctions made by your planets or angles with those of the selected celebrity in order to find remarkable affinities in a given area: this method supplements the two others. Once the Love Test's result is displayed, you can choose the range of precision. If you want to find a larger number of celebrities, increase the range. If you want tighter conjunctions, reduce the range.

Can you elaborate on the difference between forecast and detailed forecast which are displayed in the right-hand side menu?

We have several types of astrology forecasts, immediately sent to your email address round the clock, each of which has its own specifics. Here is a summary of what Astrotheme offers:

Forecasts based on transits, in our opinion the most reliable ones. There are two categories: the Standard Forecast and the Detailed Forecast.

The Standard Astrology Forecast: it analyses only important transits, meaning those of slow-moving planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), and Mars. It is sufficient for people who are interested in strong influences affecting their natal chart and who do not concern themselves with minor variations occurring simultaneously. There are two formulas for this Standard Forecast. They both have the same content, but the period of time analysed is different: the Grand Horoscopes which provide predictions for a whole year, and the Yearly Forecast, which starts from the day of your order and is valid for 12 months.

The Detailed Astrology Forecasts: they come in three formulas, Yearly, Quarterly or Monthly. They are the same as the previous ones, but in addition, they include transits of the Moon, the Sun, Mercury, and Venus. Therefore, they are more voluminous because these fast-moving planets aspect the natal chart more often. They can be considered the synthesis of the daily horoscope and the slow-moving planets' transits. They are the most comprehensive and the most professional forecasts, intended for people willing to gather as much information as possible about their planetary climate, continuously, day after day. The Detailed Forecast provides you with the same kind of elements as those which are made available to astrologers. We strongly recommend them if you want not only to know your planetary weather, but also to understand how your feelings may be affected by the variations brought about by fast-moving planets' fleeting transits. Indeed, throughout a long favourable period for instance, you may experience the "wrongdoings" of a few short-lived transits for several hours or a couple of days, even though their transient influences do not really upset the overall auspicious period.

The Solar Revolution: it is based on the technique of the Sun's return to his exact position at birth. It describes the planetary climate of the year, from one birthday to the next. This method is more general than that of forecasting based on transits, to which it is complementary even though it can be used alone. The Solar Revolution is quite highly regarded by our Anglo-Saxon customers.

The Astrological Calendar: its purpose is to do a daily analysis in order to pinpoint the most favourable periods for your love life. Daily transits are thoroughly assessed and compared to your natal chart in order to provide you with a synthesis of their influence. It is indicated on a scale from 0% to 100%, which enables you to follow the evolution of your good luck with love over the period you have chosen, i.e. one year or four weeks. Should you need to identify the most auspicious day for an important romantic date, the Astrological Calendar will prove very useful.

Our word of advice: If you are willing to obtain as much information as possible from astrology so that you can properly handle the forthcoming year, the best thing to do is to get your Yearly Detailed Forecast, your Astrological Calendar for one year, and your Solar Revolution. With this comprehensive package, you are well-equipped for starting new projects in the best possible conditions, take major decisions on auspicious days, and protect yourself during the periods when you are particularly vulnerable. For those who are curious to know their planetary climate much further ahead, our Grand Horoscopes are meant to meet their need.

Why are compatibilities expressed in percentage instead of a mark out of 20?

Historically speaking, since our website was in French only, we started displaying marks over 20 because this marking speaks for itself in France where it is used in the educational system. Our website was progressively translated into English, and astrotheme.com is now developing more and more rapidly. Besides, dating websites often display couples' affinities in percentage terms. Therefore, we thought that the time had come to change the initial display convention.

What are the conventions used for the Black Moon (Lilith), the Part of Fortune, and the Lunar Nodes?

In the beginning, the mean Node, the mean Black Moon, as well as the day and night Part of Fortune were included in all Astrotheme's applications and Reports. On 18 December 2009, we changed our stand and decided to use the true Node and the true Black Moon. The day and night Part of Fortune remains unchanged. The reason which prompted us to do so is that those conventions are slowly becoming the norms. Our applications and Reports now take these two new values into account.

Could you elaborate on your method for computing compatibility rates?

For our standard Couple Report, or our Comprehensive Report with portraits, we take into account all the elements pertaining to both people's natal charts, and we assess 11 types of inter-aspects. Our calculations are carried out weighting orbs, rulerships, the planets' nature, the aspects' nature, each planet's strength, etc. The same computation is also used for transits, for the affective and sexual chapters, as well as for the best days guide such as for instance the Yearly Report which indicates the most favourable dates for romance, along with synthesis and comments, for the next twelve months.

We have written an article on Couple Synastry. It highlights two major points that ought to be kept in mind as far as this topic is concerned. Here they are:

The concept of couple compatibility computed by astrology has nothing to do with the quality of the amorous tie or with the fact that one falls in love or not. It indicates how easily a love relationship may be experienced at various levels, provided a love link already exists. In other words, one may fall in love with a 0% mark, and one may have no feelings at all with a 100% mark. Moreover, it is necessary to put ratings into perspective. Our experience shows that a mark of approximately 6/20 (30%) may correspond to 15 or 20 years of marital life, and sometimes to a lifetime relationship, depending on the element which yielded such a result. Of course, it is better to get a mark around 8 or 9/20 (45%), or more. It would be wrong to assess a love relationship over a period shorter than 5 years or slightly more. After 5 or 10 years, one knows the efforts which are or not required in order to make things work within the couple. Before such a stretch of time, in general, one is not yet aware of what needs to be done. This comment replies in advance to questions such as "But we get along perfectly well, we have been together for 4 years, and the Report gives only 35%..." Firstly, 7/20 (35%) is not that bad. Secondly, one must know that it is the slow-moving planets' transits hitting the synastry chart and both natal charts which bring about stimulations, whether positive or negative ones, and affect the relationship. This means that the jolts of cyclical hard and rare transits may indicate whether the relationship is likely to resist the blows and how worthy it is. If the couple can cope, it is an excellent sign.

Falling in love or not can be seen with predictive techniques using transits, the Solar Revolution, symbolic directions, solar arc directions, and secondary progressions. One is more or less available at certain times, for various reasons, and it is mainly during such periods that one is most likely to fall in love. It is not because one has a 100% compatibility mark with anyone. Lastly, the natal chart or the comprehensive astrological portrait also provides a wealth of information about the type of partner and his/her personality, in addition to describing the difficulties or the smoothness of the relationship.

Having said this, here are a few indications about the method we used for computing the couple's compatibility. Minor aspects (in addition to major aspects, of course), i.e. semi-sextile, semi-square, sesqui-square, quintile, and bi-quintile, are always processed and commented, in 100% of the cases, except if:

they are generational inter-aspects (Pluto with Uranus, etc.),

they are beyond the accepted orbs, in which case the inter-aspect is not valid any more (reminder: in synastry, apply a factor of approximately 40% to 60% of the orbs of natal chart aspects, conjunctions and oppositions excepted),

the classification of each inter-aspect among all inter-aspects is such that it cannot be displayed because otherwise, the Report would be too thick, and we believe that it should not have more than 24-25 pages. Indeed, we have limited it to the most powerful inter-aspects. Our Report is so fine-tuned that we advise you to first read only the important aspects that are analysed in a special chapter. Let's suppose for instance that a given aspect is in the 29th position among the 56 aspects identified. Since we limit their display to roughly 25 inter-aspects (we say roughly because there are also mutual aspects such as A's Sun in soft aspect with B's Moon, and A's Moon in soft aspect with B's Sun), the said 29th aspect will not be displayed because it is too weak compared to the others. This is not a hard and fast rule. For another couple, a semi-sextile for example will be displayed if the orb is very tight, thus increasing its strength and making it powerful enough to rank among the 25 first inter-aspects.

A semi-square may be felt quite mildly and can be neglected if the two natal charts show particularly strong connections. We wish to emphasise that the majority of astrologers disregard minor inter-aspects because it is already a highly sophisticated work to deal with 11 inter-aspects + rulerships + weighting based on the planets' nature + orbs + secondary bodies such as the Lunar Nodes, Chiron, Lilith, etc. If we embrace too much, we may lose sight of the essential. We have focused on what is reasonable, even though we can be blamed for having aimed at excessive fine-tuning. This is the reason why we advise you to read our Report in two phases. Impatient readers can read only the texts on major inter-aspects.

All the 11 inter-aspects are assessed and commented, if the above requirements are met.

There is an equivalence in terms of inter-aspects in synastry. Their strength depends on the planet's nature, as well as on the inter-aspect's nature and orb. Therefore, in the case of "an equal orb and equal planets' nature", there is a weighting which makes the conjunction stronger than the opposition, the opposition stronger than the square, the trine, the sextile, etc. There is a ratio among all the 11 inter-aspects, all other things being equal, bearing in mind that each aspect does not have the same orb.

Aside from other coefficients, here are the ratios for inter-aspects calculated in gross value (basic value before weighting). However, the method is more complex than it may seem, since it includes weightings / orbs (linear function) / planets' nature / ASC, MC and luminaries' rulerships, etc.:

Conjunction: 1.2

Opposition: 0.75

Square: 0.75

Trine: 0.75

Sextile: 0.6

Quincunx: 0.3

Sesqui-square: 0.2

Semi-square: 0.15

Quintile: 0.3

Bi-quintile: 0.3

Semi-sextile: 0.1

Here are the widest accepted orbs expressed in degree. Beyond these figures, inter-aspects are not valid. Once again, in synastry, orbs are tighter than in natal charts. For quintiles for instance, the orb is less than one degree. We have spent approximately two years testing these orbs and coefficients on thousands of charts before putting our Reports on-line. In our opinion, this is what works best, even though each astrologer obviously has his own approach and may use slightly different figures:

Conjunction: 10

Opposition: 8

Square: 6

Trine: 6

Sextile: 4.5

Quincunx: 2

Sesqui-square: 1.5

Semi-square: 1

Quintile: 1

Bi-quintile: 1

Semi-sextile: 1

For the three objects Lilith, nodes, and Chiron, the maximum orb is set to 4 degrees (even for a conjunction), and we take into account their aspects with the angles and dix planets, not with themselves because we think that the result is more reliable: it's better to be very cautious with these objects.

We also apply a linear function to each inter-aspect's strength, according to the orb. With a maximal orb, it is of 1/2. An exact aspect (orb = 0) is three times more potent than an aspect with a maximal orb. A trine with a 6 degree orb has an influence that is three times weaker than a trine with a 0 degree orb. This linear function is applied in the same way to the natal chart and forecasts in order to assess the strength of aspects or transits.

Although all astrologers agree that orbs are tighter in synastry than in natal charts, they diverge on their value. Penny Thornton uses 6 degrees for squares and trines, whereas Ronald Davison suggests a maximum of 3 degrees.

There are other factors such as the intrinsic influence of each planet, angles, secondary bodies (Lunar Nodes, Lilith, Chiron, etc.). Their impact varies according to the nature of the area considered (sexual, marital, emotional, communication, etc.). In our comments, you may find the word "human" instead of "conjugal". They mean the same thing.

It is impossible to describe the whole method here because it would be too long. We will publish it at a later date. Suffice it to say that the nature of each inter-aspect is evaluated according to the area involved. The ASC, the MC, and the luminaries' rulerships are detected and included in the weighting of the planets' strength, and thus, they indirectly influence the inter-aspects strength, as well as the computing of the compatibility rating for a given area (60% in communication for instance).

The intrinsic influence of planets and elements depends on the area considered (see above) and is variable. As an illustration, here are the values for the marital compatibility rating:

The Sun: 30

The Moon: 30

Mercury: 17

Venus: 20

Mars: 17

Jupiter: 6

Saturn: 6

Uranus: 4

Neptune: 4

Pluto: 4

The Ascendant: 10

The Midheaven: 8

the North Node: 12

Lilith: 0

Chiron: 0

Chiron and Lilith are used to evaluate the emotional, physical (Lilith), and communication (Chiron) areas.

It must also be underlined that in synastry, oppositions are not considered to be hard aspects. In most cases, they are positive, or at least stimulating, when the planets' nature is not conflicting. For instance, Saturn and the Moon, Mars and the Moon, or Mars and Saturn do not get along well, and their opposition lowers the compatibility rate if the orb is tight. On the contrary, the Moon in opposition to the Sun or to Mercury is excellent, as positive as a conjunction, because the complementary quality plays out harmoniously, each person bringing their differences and assets to the other one, and reciprocally.

For what time is the daily personalised horoscope computed?

It is computed for 3:00 PM Paris time for the interactive daily personalised horoscope.

Sometimes, a biography shows a date that seems to differ from Wikipedia's. Why ?

Errors are sometimes found in the date indicated by Wikipedia in a given language. Astrotheme checks Wikipedia information in its English, French, and German versions, whenever possible. We also search Imdb for the entertainment industry, and Google in general. When there is an error, our biography is corrected. Besides, for roughly 0.3% of celebrities, birth dates are not fully reliable. In such cases, we take what we believe to be the most plausible data, based on the dozen of serious sources that we consult, even though we are aware that it is only a hypothesis.

I cannot find my place of birth although it is an important city. How come?

It often happens that several cities have the same name as yours. Use the selector on the right to choose yours among all the locations having the same name. You see only the first name of the list. For instance, if you type up Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Raphaël Prince Edward Island in Canada will be displayed. Click on the selector, and you will see five Saint-Raphaël occurrences, one in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and four in Canada. In general, enter only the city, not the country or the region. In most cases, you will see your city displayed. Should it not be the case, you can ask us by email that your location be added into our Atlas database. More often than not, it will be done within the day, and even within the next fifteen minutes! You will then be able to use all our free and pay applications on Astrotheme website.

I received my Report 45 minutes after I placed my order, and not 15 seconds later as you say. Why?

It is simple. In 99.9% of the cases, you receive your report within a couple of seconds (plus the period of time you have set for your email service. During promotional periods, twice a month, our server is very busy owing to large numbers or people placing orders, and on-line delivery may take longer, but it seldom takes more than 30 or 60 minutes.

Your website is big. How can I distinguish between free services and those subject to charges?

It is simple. Everything in the left-hand side menus is free, and everything in the right-hand menus is not free. Astrotheme is the astrology website that offers the best range of free articles and applications, worldwide.

Is there anything new in your celebrity search?

Everything is overhauled. You can do a celebrity search in three places: on the red window of the menus on the left, on the directory, and on the celebrity selection for the two Celestar applications, both in English and in French.

Celebrity search is now user-friendly. You can type in a surname, a first name, a series of characters of the surname and/or the first name of the star you are interested in, and you will get a list of famous people matching the information you entered, divided into two parts. The first part refers to the surname and first name, and the second part, to the biography.

For instance, if you type in the word matrix, or beatles, or angelina, you will get a list of all the celebrities having those words in their surname, first name, and biography. Our tool is extremely powerful.

Can astrology foresee the future? Is it reliable?

This is obviously the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. In a nutshell, here is what we can say with the utmost caution.

Firstly, it must be noted that there are three schools of thought, regardless of the system used (tropical, sidereal, house system, etc.). Some believe that, like clairvoyance, astrology can predict events in a quite precise and almost fatalistic way. Even though they are careful, their works reveal their fascination for some sort of pre-established destiny, such as for example French astrologer Hades.

On the other hand, some people adamantly refuse to use astrology for predictions, because they deem it not precise enough or just unsuitable for that. They generally limit the use of astrology to psychological analyses or couple compatibility, thus acknowledging some degree of usefulness, always time-saving compared to any other method aiming at understanding whom one is dealing with and at identifying the areas in which two persons are most likely to get along or not.

Lastly, there is the middle path, that of people who consider that one can effectively use astrology for forecasting, provided one remains very cautious. They believe that the basic principle that ought to be fully understood is that in their endless course around the Zodiac, the planets send ever-changing aspects (referred to as transits) to the natal chart, thus releasing energies which bring about more or less strong emotions deep down and which indirectly trigger events.

Astrotheme belongs to this third school of thought and considers astrology neither a fatality, nor a book in which every single fact occurring on Earth or in our life is written. We believe that astrology is a bunch of energies which activates the potential that is promised in our natal chart. If those energies are powerful, they may prompt us to take action or to experience a specific type of events.

Planets arouse emotions which are all the more strong if the said planets have a special connection with the natal chart, a phenomenon referred to as planetary resonance. Such stirred up emotions indirectly cause certain events to manifest in our life.

For instance, in a male's chart, soft transits to Venus, the Moon, or elements pertaining to his 5th House will make him psychologically more available and self-confident in the fields of romance, well-being, and pleasurable activities. This mindset prompts him to make encounters which may prove to be crucial. Conversely, if those elements receive a hard transit, a reflex of fear may urge him to protect himself and adopt a more distant attitude, and consequently, to shun the possibility to find his soul mate. It is worth noting that, although it is not always the case, being happy and assertive are attractive qualities, more often than not.

It is obvious that events are not subject to determinism, but that they are sifted through the filter of our emotions. Likewise, nothing can happen if it is not inscribed in the natal chart. This is a truth that tends to be ignored by many astrologers, unfortunately. As far as we are concerned, we always stress that it is of fundamental importance that one ought to thoroughly understand one's astrological portrait before getting interested in predictions.

Without going into too many details regarding forecasting, the quick yet careful answer to your question might be yes, it is possible to foresee important events, showing humility and indicating the different hypotheses that may occur. For instance, a woman with her natal Sun in the 6th House receiving a soft transit from Uranus may experience the encounter of her life, since the Sun represents men in general and perhaps her husband-to-be and more broadly, relationships with males. The other hypothesis is that her daily workplace is disrupted. Both possibilities can happen simultaneously, meaning encountering Mr Right and changing her work environment and her lifestyle.

Thus, it is clear that one must always be very cautious when dealing with transits. Sometimes, their interpretation is easier. In order to avoid making a nonsensical analysis, the position of natal planets in natal houses must be delineated for forecasting. This is what Astrotheme does. We also give systematic warnings regarding the areas affected by the various forces at play. To the best of our knowledge, we are the only website to do so. Our Grand Horoscope 2014, our Detailed Yearly Forecast (the most comprehensive ones on our website) and our Detailed Quarterly Forecast include all these elements. In our opinion, they provide a host of information about the emotions triggered and how they may translate into events.

What about the planet Pluto, now that it is not considered a planet any more?

We have answered this question in our article: Pluto, the planet that is not a planet any more (it will be translated soon).

How can I pay my order without a credit card?

There are three means to pay your purchases on Astrotheme: by credit card, through a secured transaction carried out by our partner, the LCL bank, by check sent to Astrotheme's postal address, and by direct debit on your Internet bill, which uses the so-called w-HA process.

All Astrology and Belline Reports, excepted Professional Reports, are sent to your email address within a couple of seconds. The timeframe is always indicated on the page describing the Reports.

On the English website, payment by Paypal is available. You also have the possibility to make a bank transfer to order a Report. In that case, like in the case of payments by checks, your Report will be sent upon reception of your transfer or your check.

In the Daily Personalised Horoscope, why are the same texts sometimes repeatedly displayed?

The answer is simple. A true horoscope is based on the planets' endless journey, which is compared with your natal chart. This analysis focuses on the inter-aspects made between the planets of the day, the mundane configuration, and your natal planets, angles, and houses. Inter-aspects are referred to as transits. They last a more or less long time, depending on the speed of the planets involved in the transit.

There are four categories of transits: firstly, transits by slow-moving planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto), which are used for long-term forecasting. Astrotheme's horoscope displays only one of these slow transits. They are not strictly speaking part of the horoscope and constitute additional information for those who want to know more, since their influence, more important and lasting longer than that of fast-moving planets, often translates into concrete effects. Therefore, it is normal that such texts are repeated during 3 months if the transit lasts 3 months.

Mars' transits come next : Mars completes his journey around the Zodiac in approximately 2 years. His influence usually lasts a few days, or a couple of weeks. His transits correspond to quite tangible and powerful events, though less potent than the first transits mentioned. They are part of the natural horoscope, and in general, they are repeated between 2 days or a couple of weeks.

The third category of transits comprises the transits of the Sun, Mercury, and Venus. They travel through the Zodiac in one year. Mercury and Venus may "retrograde", owing to the frame of reference used in astrology which considers that the centre of the universe in not the Sun or any other planet, but the individual's birthplace on earth. When a fast-moving planet such as Mercury or Venus is in its retrograde cycle, it may stay on a sensitive point of the natal chart for several days. The Sun never retrogrades, and his influence may be felt between two to four days, depending on the type of aspect and its orb, i.e. the number of degrees accepted before the aspect becomes exact and beyond which the aspect is not valid any more. Therefore, one can see that even fast transits can be repeated from one day to the next, sometimes even longer, and the text of their interpretation, displayed several times. This is normal and neither a bug nor an error!

The last category includes the transits of the Moon. The Moon covers approximately 12 to 13 degrees per day, meaning that she travels through the Zodiac in roughly 28 days. Her transits last only a few hours. The corresponding texts are displayed only once since there is no repetition, except for the texts describing the transits in houses which are provided in addition. Indeed, a house may be between 20 and 40 degrees wide in the Placidus house system, the most commonly used in Europe. In three days, the Moon covers roughly 36 - 38 degrees, and as a result, the interpretation of the Moon in house may be repeated three times.

To sum up, it is natural and normal that some texts are repeated when a transit remains active.

The fashionable practice is often to provide fantasy instead of genuine horoscopes. What you can find in magazines or on big astrology sites are seldom serious horoscopes. They are mere texts written at random, very different from one day to the next so that the reader does not get bored, but they are no astrology. Those horoscopes sold in the form of books or published by commercial sites or newspapers have no valuable content.

Here was the explanation about why some transits are displayed for several days, as long as they remain active, and it is important that they are mentioned.

How do you know that Jesus Christ was born on a given day and at a given time?

The dates and times of birth of several historical figures and contemporary celebrities are a real headache. Regarding Jesus Christ, it is necessary to make two comments. From a historical standpoint, his birth date is known with a gap of three or four years, maybe five, and therefore, it would be wrong to imagine that such or such historical sources providing precise data might be very reliable. The second comment is that it is obvious that for certain people, though fewer and fewer, the very existence of Jesus Christ is debatable.

Having said this, several sources of information are available, and it may be interesting to cast a natal chart based on one of the hypotheses provided. This is what we did, using the data found on Gilles ROY's site, or his lists. We let the website's author bear the entire responsibility for his publications. This source has the merit of existing, and we have decided to display the Christ's astrological chart even though, like a limited number of personalities on Astrotheme, the date of birth is not very reliable.

A few other celebrities pose a problem, such as for instance Robert Redford, for whom there is a doubt of two years, or Michael Jackson, for whom numerous sources are available. Nevertheless, such cases are rare, since out of the 38200 entries of our database, we have some fourteen dubious data. We gladly personally answer all requests regarding the sources of the birth dates displayed on Astrotheme.

Is it possible to cast a chart for a date prior to 1900?

Although celebrities' charts are available for all dates, including negative ones, i.e. BC, as far as interactive charts and astrological reports are concerned, for the time being, the year selector allows only options between 1900 and 2020, and without any limit soon. Indeed, the selector avoids manipulation errors when you place an order. An update will be done in the near future so as to allow you to select any year between 999 BC and 2100.

However, you can get ephemerides for any year between 0 and 2100 on the page Ephemerides and Transits. The only constraint is that you have to key in the transit date using 4 characters. For instance, for 570, key in 0570, and for 45, key in 0045, etc. The outer chart as well as the tables displayed provide planetary positions for the date requested.

What does the Detailed Monthly Forecast offer as compared with the standard Forecast?

As its name indicates, the former is much more detailed than the latter and analyses all transits made by slow-moving planets as well as by fast-moving ones. The Detailed Monthly Forecast provides not only important forecasts but also fleeting influences and indicates small events which often trigger bigger ones. It is the best choice for those who wish to get a detailed calendar of their astrological climate throughout the month.

To our view, they constitute the best astrological forecasts, very suitable for those you want to have as many pieces of information as possible about how planets may influence their natal chart. As it is the case with all our services, you enjoy the convenience of rapidity since they are delivered to your email address in a matter of seconds.

What is the difference between the Grand Horoscope 2014 and the Detailed Yearly Forecast?

The Grand Horoscope 2014 provides efficient forecasts from 1st January to 31 December 2014. The Detailed Yearly Forecast starts from the day of your order. For instance, if you place an order today, you will get forecasts for the forthcoming 366 days. Aside from this difference, these Reports are very useful, and we recommend them. Meaningless transits are sorted out and dismissed, and our Reports go right to the point, contrary to what you may find on other websites which even interpret transits made by Pluto to natal Neptune and clutter your document with erroneous information. We wish to remind you that when you place an order on Astrotheme, you receive your Report as soon as you have validated your purchase (plus the time required by your electronic mail service).

What is new with the interactive charts updated?

They may now be considered real summarised astrological portraits. They do not replace the Comprehensive Astrological Portrait, but they provide numerous interpretation texts for a simple approach and a basic understanding of the natal charts. Hundreds of texts are now available, including those on the 360 symbolic degrees. This service is also available for Webmasters who wish to offer their visitors a personalised interactive natal chart. The copy-paste process (iframe) is instantaneous. Their visitors remain on their website and do not go to Astrotheme.

I have not received my astrological report. Why?

There is a problem with your email service, or you have not checked your spam folder. Please, look for it, and you will find it. AOL and Hotmail often send to the spam folder mails having a document attached.

Astrotheme's server sends your report to the email you indicated. If for any reason, the said email is not accessible such as exceeded quotas, server unavailable, network problem or, most often, typing error in your email address, etc., it is normal that you receive nothing.

In such rare occurrences, there is nothing to worry about. Just send us an email, after having checked that your email address has no typing error, and after having checked all your folders. We will quickly send your report which is kept on our server during 10 days and waits for you.

What is the difference between the Top 500 rating and the Favourites Hit-Parade?

Our Members can now keep up to 200 celebrities' profiles, in addition to 100 private profiles. Our programme detects in real time the number of times a celebrity has been registered by Members and establishes a rating.

The 20 females and the 20 males who are the most selected as favourites by our members are now displayed on our Home page and on several other pages such as the Celestar, between the 40 last famous newcomers and the Top 500.

The Top 500 celebrities (or Top 1000 in the new on-line Celestar for very high Internet broadband) correspond to the actual consultations made by all our visitors of our website, meaning, the overall number of clicks. It is less reliable since we have not yet installed a lock to limit the number of clicks, if the same person clicks on the same celebrity several times, which may distort the rating.

In Celestar, famous people's popularity is sometimes surprising.

It must be noted that, firstly, the level of popularity (the figure in square brackets in Celestar) is determined by our visitors, which means that we have no influence on it. Popularity is based on the number of clicks a given celebrity gets, meaning the number of times the celebrity is selected on the website's various applications.

This ought to be underlined because we are sometimes blamed for the ratings. Once again, visitors' selections determine the level of popularity. Current events may have a skyrocket effect, sometimes in a sad way such as for instance when Pope John Paul II passed away, or in a happy way when Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles got married. In any case, we never influence the outcome.

Secondly, popularity levels start from zero when we enter a celebrity, and therefore, the newcomer is at a disadvantage compared with those who have been in our database for quite some time. There is nothing we can do about this, and after a few months, "big shots" will take their proper rank.

On the other hand, some fans click on their idol hundreds of times in order to improve the rating. If we notice really abnormal cases, we manually change the results thus distorted. But as a matter of rule, we try not to intervene.

Furthermore, 30% to 35% of visits are by people living outside of France, and they do not have the same approach of celebrities' popularity as French people, which is quite natural since our data base is international. Therefore, it is normal that personalities who are not very well known in France enjoy considerable fame worldwide.

Lastly, many Astrotheme's pages are highlighted by Google and other search engines, which results in an unusually high number of clicks, a phenomenon on which we have no control.

Do you take secondary bodies into account when computing dominants and planetary repartitions?

Not at all, and we do so deliberately. To some extent, for calculating the couple's compatibility, we take into account Lilith, the lunar Nodes, and Chiron. But their influences seem too weak to be reckoned with for assessing dominants and planetary repartitions. They are not only weak but actually irrelevant.

It is safer to work only with the ten planets (in the astrological sense of the word, that is from the Sun through to Pluto), and the angles, i.e. the Ascendant and the Midheaven. But for these latter, our method is most sophisticated and analyses every single aspect in order to calculate the planetary dominant and the weight of each planet, a parameter which affects the calculation of our 11 criteria.

It would required a great deal of time to describe our method. It involves two levels of computing, that of the planets' basic weight which is fine-tuned using various sorts of calculations (activity, quality, angular position, rulership, all these factors being weighted according to the tightness of orb). Once the planet's weight is thus fine-tuned, it is added into the 12 criteria calculation, excepted that of dominant planets, which constitutes the thirteenth criterion. For the latter, the planetary dominant considered alone, we put all the planets at the same level and we take only into account the pluses and minuses of the different types of calculations which we have mentioned.

For instance, by default and if there is no peculiarity (angular position, activity, rulership, etc.) the Sun gives more emphasis to a sign than Neptune, as far as the dominant sign is concerned. But when dealing with planetary dominants, Neptune has as many chances as the Sun to qualify as the dominant planet, which is in line with manual analyses.

After numerous tests and analyses, we are totally happy with the results achieved in the past years for these criteria. All statistics are applied to all the celebrities of our database available on-line, which enables to sort them out and carry out rankings and researches according to planetary dominant or repartition.

Are planetary dominants included in the portraits you sell?

Yes. Comprehensive astrological portraits are much more detailed than the excerpts posted on our celebrity pages.

As far as planetary dominants, elements, modes, etc. are concerned, what are the outstanding features of Astrotheme's method, in comparison with other existing methods?

Here is a short outline of our method. A brief one only, since detailed explanations would require too many pages. We will publish it later because all the innumerable tests we conducted have proved conclusive. The following paragraphs are meant for those who have fairly good notions of astrology, since the subject is quite technical.

The planetary dominants method devised by the founder of Astrotheme, Philippe Lepoivre de Vesle, is more sophisticated than other existing methods for two reasons that we are going to explain here. Firstly, the programming of elements used in order to assess the planets' strength has been taken one step further than anything that has been done so far in terms of precision. Secondly, a synthesis of all the existing methods has been completed, and what proved to be efficient was kept.

Currently well-known methods are by Alexandre Volguine, Jacques Berthon, Christophe de Cène, Gilles Verneret, as well as Catherine Aubier, Yves Lenoble, and a few others, since nearly each astrologer devised his/her own method when he/she got interested in programming. All these methods have their qualities, and their remarkable results often led to improvements in the determination of dominant planets. The purpose is not to belittle them, only to briefly explain in which way our efforts took us a step further.

Our approach was based on two points: pragmatism and comprehensiveness with maximal fine-tuning. Let's take an example of pragmatism: all students know that there are signs in which all planets are in domicile, in exaltation, in fall, or in exile.

The debate about the increase of planets' strength is quite weird. Some people write that when a planet is in domicile or in exaltation, it is at the peak of its power and gives of its best, and that when it is in fall or in exile, its activity is hindered. Besides, the calculations of planetary strength usually include a plus in the first two cases, and a minus in the latter two. Such plus and minus affect the importance of the said planet and influence the whole set of usual criteria: hierarchy of elements, of modes, of houses, of signs, etc. Now, is it possible to consider that a planet in exile is "less strong" than a planet in domicile, that it could not become a dominant planet despite its weak position? Some would answer no because a so-called malefic planet in exile or in fall is most likely to have its incapacitating energy, and therefore its power, increased, precisely owing to its difficult position? Therefore, is it reasonable to grant a plus only to planets which play out "favourably"? One ought to keep a sense of moderation in this regard, lest one should get results which do not match the manual analyses.

Actually, caution and common sense demand that those pluses and minuses be limited for rulerships. Volguine's method for instance goes a bit too far, and results are distorted compared with our experience. Lepoivre de Vesle's computing method used on Astrotheme significantly reduces the plus and minus system in order to rule out misleading results and to obtain a more accurate assessment of the planets' strength.

In the same category of parameters, the principles of speed, polarity, and retrogradation seem quite dangerous. A systematic numeric count added to such criteria results too often in bizarre, thus wrong, dominants.

What factors must be taken into account? Apart from the aspects we just mentioned and which are to be reckoned with, exercising great caution, the most important criteria in our opinion are mainly the angular position, the principle of activity, as well as the Ascendant and Midheaven's rulerships, and to a lesser extent, the Sun and Moon's rulerships.

This is how we have devised a sophisticated programming to assess the "activity" of each planet according to its aspects to other planets and to the angles, while analysing the nature of aspects, the planets involved and above all, the exactness - orbs - of the said aspects. This comprehensive computing enables to measure and to give an activity rate to each planet. Such rating is then injected into the last calculation of the overall strength, this time in a subtler way than whatever has been done. Indeed, a 10 degree orb conjunction is less powerful than a 2 degree orb conjunction, and so forth for every aspect, including minor aspects such as sesqui-squares, etc.

The purpose here is certainly not to explain the method in its details, even though we shall do so at a later stage. For the moment, we only provide a few elements to back up our calculation and underline our opinion that our method is the most reliable one among all those which we have tested so far.

Angular positions are also numerically processed, a more common practice. Aspects made by a planet to the angles start to be felt within an orb of 15°, which is the accepted rule for this criterion. One of the obvious difficulties has been to weight the importance of all the criteria - quality, activity, angular position, rulership, etc. Therefore, numerous tests have been carried out in order to achieve a satisfactory system.

Once we have a good idea of each planet's strength, assessed using the above-mentioned criteria, it becomes possible to compute the importance of the other usual dominants such as the North, South, East, and West hemispheres, the Yin and Yang polarity, the Fire, Air, Earth, and Water elements, the Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable modes, the angular, succedent, and cadent house hierarchy, the signs' esoteric decanates, and particularly, the dominant planets, signs, and houses. That is to say 11 dominants which are a good introduction to assess a personality and enrich an already drawn portrait using the usual meanings of planets in sign and in house, aspects, and rulerships.

The uniqueness of Astrotheme's method resides in our desire to go as far as possible in terms of fine-tuning, thus, in the comprehensive assessment of the planets' nearness and nature as well as in our synthesis of all the existing methods. All this has enabled us to obtain accurate values for all the dominants, at the cost of a great deal of long and demanding programming work.

These 11 calculations are applied to the 36300 celebrities of Astrotheme's database, in texts and in numerical values. It is possible to classify, to search, or to sort out all these famous people according to the 11 astrological criteria, and for instance, to get a list of celebrities selected according to the importance of Fire in the natal chart, or the numerical prominence of cadent houses, or of mutable elements, or according to the supremacy of the South-Eastern quadrant. It is also easy to search for the most Neptunian or Solarian, or those who have the most highlighted 8th House, or the most emphasised Sagittarius, etc. You can even couple these 11 criteria with the other existing ones, and thus, carry out a "multicriteria" search involving planets' position, house, and signs, and select the orb of exactness at will.

What house system do you use on Astrotheme and for the celebrities?

Placidus, which is by far the most commonly used. There are other systems: equal houses, Campanus, Koch, Meridian, Regiomontanus, Porphyry, Morinus, Topocentric, Alcabitius, whole houses, etc. In a few Astrotheme applications, you can select your favourite house system.

May I change the email address of my account but keep all my birth profiles?

You can easily and instantly change your email address and keep your Astrotheme account with all the birth profiles you have stored. In the Members area, click on Modify Email or Password. All you have to do is enter your new email address and your password, and confirm them.

Why have you removed thousands of photos of famous people?

We reserve those photos for our members. This is a member's privilege.

Can you tell us how to use your new forms and avoid entering data?

Those new forms enable to store 100 birth profiles, for instance your spouse, your children, your friends, etc. and use them with one single click on all our applications, including when you order an astrological report.

You can change your 100 profiles, and in general, do what you want with them. The advantage is that it takes you only one second instead of fifteen. Thus, you can use 15 times our free applications within the same stretch of time.

To take advantage of this feature, all you have to do is sign in, on the top left side of the page, and key in your username and your password. Besides, automatic sign in is available on our website, and most of the times, when you visit us, you are automatically identified without doing anything. If you have deleted your cookies, you will only need to enter your username and your password.

If you do not have an account yet, it will take you a couple of seconds to create it. Choose a username, a password, and an email address, and that's it. Then, you will have the possibility to create your birth profiles in the Manage Your Birth Profiles menu, in the Members Area, or whenever you wish, as you fill in our newly-styled form.

Our new forms are installed in the right-hand side menus (astrological reports) and in the left-hand side menus (free applications).

We strongly advise you to register and to store your birth profiles in your account. You will see that our website is much more pleasant to use since you will be given the possibility to inject birth data with a single click!

I have noticed erroneous dates. Does this mean that you are not serious?

We are serious, by all means! We rely on some fifteen independent sources, on birth certificates, and on biography bases. A typing error is always possible, even though it occurs very seldom, and aside from this eventuality, our sources are trustworthy.

What are the problematic cases? Actually, they are two-fold. Firstly, some websites make errors, and because Google is particularly efficient, the visitor rightly wonders which website gives the correct information. Nevertheless, this does not mean that our website provides a wrong information just on the ground that it is different from another website.

Secondly, there are serious cases. Serge LIFAR for instance, was born in 1904, not in 1905, Jean-Pierre KALFON, etc.

Yasser ARAFAT's date is correct. The date of 4 August which is found on the Internet is less reliable than that of 27 August we indicate and which comes from Thomas Kiernan: Yasser ARAFAT was born on 27 August 1929 at 2 a.m. in Cairo.

Many sites use our dates after having exchanged emails with us about such or such famous people.

Sometimes, the date has two or even three sources. It is terrible... and in that case, there is a subjective factor. We spend a great deal of time choosing the information that seems most credible, usually the majority one, though not always. The ill-intentioned visitor is free to retort that this is no serious work, but we make our decisions knowingly and to the best of our abilities.

Regarding typing errors, they are very few and corrected as soon as a visitor alerts us, or as soon as we notice them ourselves.

We welcome all comments, provided that their various sources have been checked and that they are not meant to lash out at us or accuse us of not being serious. With approximately 37000 entries, 50% of which has a birth time, Astrotheme's database is remarkably reliable. Many websites rectify their data and follow ours, even in the few cases where we are the only one having the accurate information. Once again, one ought to be very cautious, as a date published on a website is not necessarily accurate!

Dates prior to 5 October 1582 (the end of the Julian calendar for many countries) are indicated according to the Julian calendar and not to the Gregorian calendar, which is the common practice. We have double-checked some 250 historical personages born before the above date and corrected several dates. An article on this topic is now available on-line and explains these conversions depending on countries and dates, since there may be a gap of 0-10 days between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, between 46 BC and 5 October 1582.

It may happen that some astrological studies do not match the criterion taken as an example. Although all dates and charts are accurate, some studies which were published on-line six or twelve months ago may not have been updated. However, all the dates and charts of our dynamic applications are correct, and our statistical applications work perfectly well. All portraits and natal charts accessed with the Celestar or any other application have been checked.

Is it a good idea to include victims of murder or serial killers in your celebrity database?

Being in the public eye is our sole criterion. Astrologers are interested in everybody's life and natal chart. They are not driven by morbid tendencies or an unhealthy curiosity to study tragic destinies or exceptional ones. Confucius, popes, actresses, writers, are in our database, as well as personalities who are famous for some reason. Hundreds of serial killers and innocent victims too, along with Nobel Prize-winners, clowns, scientists, lottery winners, sportsmen, etc. We repeat that the only criterion for including people in our database and our various applications is the fact that they are widely known.

It seems to us that it is interesting that each and everyone can study as many astrological charts as possible, exactly as one would look into a dictionary or an encyclopaedia. Extremely few people, merely 5 emails out of 6 million visits today, do not understand this principle and do not hesitate to blame us for including dictators or child victims. One person has even forbidden us to display the birth date of a former actor, although the information is published on many other websites! It is legal to display a natal chart, which is nothing more than a mathematic calculation of celestial bodies. It is also legal to publish the astrological portrait of famous people, even though we do not do so on Astrotheme, whether the said celebrity's family members appreciate astrology or not.

Our website is not meant to be controversial. Out of tens of thousands of pages displayed, not one single line is defamatory. On the contrary, whenever possible, our texts highlight famous people's nice features. We also believe that having certain well-known people in our database contributes to keep them alive in memories. A Google search shows that Astrotheme website is in most cases more renowned than top celebrities. Pieces of information sometimes disappear from the Internet. We gather them and put them at everyone's disposal, free of charge, after having thoroughly checked the date, time, and place of birth, generally using numerous sources, even though at times we are led to correct certain information. We continuously improve our database, sometimes adding a birth time, sometimes correcting a birth place or displaying a better photo, etc.

Why don't you publish a news article about famous couples, for instance about Jean-Michel Jarre and Isabelle Adjani, or Jean-Michel Jarre and Anne Parillaud who used to hit the headlines?

It is very simple. There are several possibilities in a couple's diagnosis: good, bad, or neutral, with the whole gamut of nuances in between. However... imagine that for an existing, or new-formed couple, the diagnosis is not good, and that there is the certainty that it will not last more than a year or two, supported by astrological argumentation. We could expect a violent reaction from the couple in question, and it would be just right. Astrology can foresee potential events which the couple is not yet aware of. It is normal, and even desirable, not to discuss the private life of anyone, including famous people, when a comment may prove harmful and insidious or speed up negative developments.

It is quite legal and normal to comment on public affairs, such as for instance the article we published on-line on the U.S. elections, but writing about people's private life is borderline, especially considering the personal consequences that may be brought about. When the diagnosis is positive, there is no problem of course.

For past events, on the other hand, such diagnosis can be made.

To avoid any misunderstanding, it is necessary to underline that we do not suggest that the couples mentioned above have poor compatibilities. Each person is free to judge by one's own criteria, but as far as we are concerned, we do not feel entitled to utter any kind of comment on an existing couple, because we deem it a matter of deontology and morals.

Sometimes, despite the large number of entries, I do not find a very famous person. Why?

It is often because we have not found the exact date of birth. Astrotheme is not a general celebrity directory. No exact date of birth = no astrology, it is as simple as that. It is impossible to cast an astrological chart with only the year of birth. Therefore, it is normal that the database lacks many personalities. We shall enter them when we find comprehensive information. It seems that some people hide their birth dates so cautiously that no website displays them, no matter how popular a celebrity is. One must exercise patience.

There is also the case where a celebrity is not yet in our database. We never fail to take into account your suggestions, which we do welcome. The database grows each day, with between 5 and 150 new entries in a row. It will grow even faster if you suggest a bigger number of names.

I have ordered a report, and I have not received anything after five minutes. Why?

When you place an order, the process starts immediately after you validate the purchase, and you should receive your report within roughly 30 seconds. If you do not, check you other reception folders, such as spam mail, undesirable mail, etc. Your mail service may have sent our report there, as it sometimes happens with AOL and Hotmail for instance. Otherwise, check your disk quota, and do some cleaning. We keep your report during 10 days so that our customers can download it if their mailbox was not available when our instant sending was done.

We remind that all the birth times displayed are legal times: it is the time recorded in birth certificates, the time you can see on your watch at the moment your child is born... Our programmes compute the necessary corrections according to the time system in effect at the place of birth. In addition, we also adjust the longitude. When the birth time is unknown, we take 12 p.m., legal time of the place of birth, which reduces the margin of error. All other parameters are similarly rigorously combined. We do not display the house system in such cases. There is no Ascendant, only planets in signs and their aspects. As far as the reports are concerned, one ought to key in the legal time (current time) in the time field.

What is interactivity used for? Can we expect more texts, and when?

We have completed all our charts' interactivity, the simple ones as well as the bi-wheel charts. In simple words, it means that by putting your mouse pointer on certain parts of the chart, information will be displayed about signs, houses, planets, asteroids, special points, and symbolic degrees. This is very user-friendly for people who are not too familiar with astrological charts and the meaning of their basic principles. This functionality is implemented everywhere it was technically possible to do so, including in the synastry and Partners service bi-wheel charts.

Is the Love Test not in contradiction with the Compatibility Calculator?

Not at all. Both applications are fully complementary. Let's sum up:

The purpose of the C3 (Couple Compatibility Calculator) is to overall compare two astrological charts. It takes into account... EVERYTHING. There may be a sum of favourable links which, when added together, may result in an excellent compatibility rating. There may also be a sum of excellent inter-aspects, and simultaneously, very negative aspects, which results in a not so good compatibility. In any case, carefully reading our Compatibility Report enables to put things into perspective, all the more so since we provide ratings in various fields, marital, affective, sexual, and durability.

As for the Love Test, it has 24 very precise and powerful criteria, but only those. It takes only into account very tight conjunctions of some couple of planets. The idea is to detect exceptionally strong and deep points, regardless of the rest of the charts. It is a simple search carried out on one domain, deliberately utopian, idealistic, and extreme. Indeed, given the huge number of entries of our celebrity database, it would have been unhealthy to display thousands of results. Therefore, we have taken a very narrow bracket so that a given criterion produces about ten names only.

Thus, the results of the Love Test provide a bevy of names which have extremely strong affinities with you in some areas.

As a consequence, it is very logical for instance to get very high ratings with a celebrity in the Celestar, and not to have it in the Love Test, and... conversely. This is the reason why we underline the fact that combining these two applications (with an improved Love Test and a new version of the Compatibility Calculator) can constitute an extremely powerful and even more reliable method. This is what we are currently working at. The dating website that should be on-line in the course of the year will use this calculation method.

But right now, you can play manually with our free Multicriteria applications, and get a host of astrological tests based on our celebrity database or on people whom you know personally, using our customised charts with detailed positions. You can select an impressive number of simultaneous or isolated criteria to find any type of person you are interested in.

What is the reliability of your compatibility calculations?

The answer is given in several paragraphs and pages of the website, and also further down in this page, since it is a big topic. To sum it up, we shall briefly say that our calculations seem very interesting and reliable in 75% of the cases, even more. They show how easy or how difficult it is to live together and concretely experience some aspects of the relationship. They address neither the quality nor the intensity of the relationship. In other words, even with a 2/20 rating (meaning a 10% compatibility rating with the new norm on-line), one may fall in love, and this love will be as genuine as any other love. It is just that in daily real life, it will be less easy. It is obvious that with less than 25%, the verdict regarding the couple's durability will not be very encouraging. However, as far as each partner's personal growth is concerned, it is often more interesting to experience a relationship with ratings between 30% and 60% than with 95%, even though smoothness is always pleasant.

The 20 to 25% of cases which we deem not satisfactory enough are linked to technical peculiarities: clusters of planets interacting between the two charts are not easy to deal with from a technical point of view. We are presently working on an enhanced version of the C3 (Couple Compatibility Calculator) which will take into account such mass effect so that it works like a professional astrologer. This will enable to correctly treat 95% of the cases instead of the current 80%. Like all our Astrotheme astrological applications, the C3 is in constant evolution.

I sent an email and received no reply. No one is there?

This is not true. We answer 100% of emails, usually within 5 minutes, sometimes within one hour, and very seldom within 12 or 24 hours maximum. If you receive no answer, it is because your mailbox is not accessible! Please, check it up, because we often receive several successive messages saying "Astrotheme, you don't reply?". Actually, when we answer, the Mailer Daemon indicates that your email is inacessible (unavailable, anti-spam programmes, quota exceeded, etc.). See for yourself, or write us from a different mailbox, and you will find out that Astrotheme is very reactive!

Your website has many menus. How to quickly find out where to go?

The website is divided into 2 parts :

on the left hand side, we have gathered everything that is free of charge, calculations and interpretations (Ascendant, natal chart, forecast, horoscope, symbolic degrees, charts comparison, simplified compatibility calculation), articles on astrology (sign compatibility, physical appearance and health according to the sign, the love style, hobbies, purpose of life, etc.), information on astrology (beginners and more advanced), the Celestar application with thousands of celebrities, photos, the possibility to calculate the compatibility of famous people and to compare oneself to a celebrity in order to get one's compatibility rating with the said celebrity, etc. The Celestar allows you to visualise thousands of astrological charts, including yours, using our customised natal chart programme. It is worth noting that our database is continuously growing. We have put on-line a Statistics and Famous People application which provides planetary repartition, houses, and prominent signs for thousands of people. Each day, at 5 a.m. Paris time, data are updated, and new names are entered, based on your requests. We regularly add bulks of names.

on the right hand side, we have gathered the menus of pay reports. We do our utmost to offer best value for money on the Internet.

With so many compatibility reports, I am lost. What are their differences?

Here are our various reports:

Free Compatibility: it provides a "simplified" Compatibility rating (Free Offer menu, on the left). With only your dates of birth, this compatibility calculation gives you an idea of how smooth your relationship will be. If you do not know the time and place of birth, kindly note that the rating is only a rough indication which may not be personally applied. One must be very cautious since there may be considerable discrepancies. Nevertheless, it gives you quick information which includes all the data of your approximate charts.

Compatibility Report: in the same menu, you can immediately receive this comprehensive analysis for your couple (about 23 to 25 pages) with your natal charts, a bi-wheel synastry chart, and a comprehensive relationship analysis. It is the most detailed report of our website.

Comprehensive Compatibility Report: it is the same as the previous one, but it also provides the analysis of your combined astrological portraits and includes about 90 pages all in all. You can purchase it instantly with a credit card. It is the report we recommend most often, since knowing both partners' traits is key to understanding the couple relationship.

You get these reports on your email address instantly (one second for the free report, and about one minute for the other one). We strongly recommend these comprehensive reports - especially the report with portraits which is a good bargain - as they describe your couple relationship with a wealth of detail.

In the Celestar, may I calculate my compatibility with only the 600 most famous people, or with everybody?

There is no limitation. All you have to do is use the buttons "Your profile" for you and "Star 2" for the celebrity of your choice to calculate your compatibility with any Celestar celebrity, including historical personages born before 1000, with Catherine of Medicis, or with anyone you fancy!

If you want to compare two celebrities, use the buttons "Star 1" and "Star 2".

The Celestar serves as a compatibility calculator and at the same time as a famous people directory. It provides the natal chart of thousands of celebrities, their photo, their popularity too, and their mention on the Top Couple list. We regularly update our database using your suggestions and our own researches. A "Flop Couple" box office is also available and displays couples with poor compatibility ratings.

I have not received my report, and I get no reply to my emails! Why? How can I contact you?

You have not checked the validity of your email address. It may be unavailable, or you may have exceeded your quota. In any case, your report is ready since the moment you placed your order. We receive your emails, but we can never get back to you or send your report! The smart thing to do is to make a test and send yourself a message. If it works, everything is fine. Otherwise, write to us again from a different email address.

How can I print or save the natal chart of all the Celestar's famous people, or my own chart?

In the Celestar, display the natal chart with the options you are interested in (with or without aspects to angles, major aspects only or all aspects, secondary asteroids). Once the chart is displayed, right-click, and a menu appears. Click on save to keep the chart on your hard drive, wherever you want. To print it, just chose "Print image". This is how you can get as many natal charts as you wish.

In the Ascendant calculation, in the free menu on the left hand side, we have added the comprehensive natal chart at the bottom of the text. This is another way to display your natal chart, save it, and print it.

What orbs do you use for natal charts?

The orbs for the eleven aspects of the natal charts we display are as follows (degrees.decimals):

Conjunction: 10.8

Opposition: 10.0

Trine: 8.3

Square: 7.5

Sextile: 5.7

Quincunx: 2.2

Semi-sextile: 1.5

Semi-square: 2.5

Sesqui-square: 2.5

Quintile: 1.0

Bi-quintile: 1.0

We do not apply extra weighting to differentiate among personal planets, trans-saturnian planets, etc. because we think that many visitors are interested in seeing all the aspects and that differences are not significant.

Of course, the above orbs are tighter for our compatibility programmes where major aspects are positively differentiated. Sextiles may be deemed slightly too strong, but experience shows that they remain active in the natal chart up to nearly 6 degrees of orb.

A wider orb is given to luminaries, i.e. the Sun and the Moon, and 0.3 degree is added for all aspects (the orb is wider by 18 minutes when the Sun or the Moon is involved, and by 36 minutes for Sun-Moon aspects).

What orbs are used for the forecasts based on transits?

The orbs for the eleven major and minor aspects are as follows (degrees.decimals):

Conjunction: 2.6

Opposition: 2.5

Trine: 2.3

Square: 2.3

Sextile: 2.3

Quincunx: 1.5

Semi-sextile: 1.3

Semi-square: 1.3

Sesqui-square: 1.5

Quintile: 1.0

Bi-quintile: 1.0

In the forecasts based on transits, we take into account major aspects only (conjunction, opposition, trine, square, and sextile).

We give an extra orb of 0.1 degree (6 minutes) to the transiting luminaries.

I am looking for a celebrity's date, time, or place or birth. Can I find it on Astrotheme? Do you have a directory of famous people's birth dates?

Yes. You can do a search to get a celebrity's birth data and directly obtain his/her astrological sign and Ascendant, as well as his/her natal chart. All you need to do is enter the name you are interested in in the red search box above the menu on the left, on any page.

I cannot read the examples of charts available on your website. I cannot read the report I ordered. Why?

Our reports are in the universal Acrobat Reader multi-platform format. It is the only means to send on the Internet documents with sophisticated layout and graphics. Indeed, all users can view it, even with a palm or a Pocket PC, a device under Linux, a Mac, an old PC, etc.

Immediately install Acrobat Reader free of charge. Answer the questions, download the automatic installation file; then double-click on the file you just downloaded. The installation is done automatically, and you will be able to read our document, as well as any Acrobat document.

If you have an older Acrobat Reader version, it may not be suitable any more. In that case, you only need to uninstall it and download the new version. Everything will work fine and you will enjoy maximal comfortable conditions.

I have ordered a comprehensive compatibility report, and I notice contradictions in some texts, and there are so many... What have you got to say?

Compatibility reports reflect our real life. For instance, there may be a Venus-Mars square and a Mars-Venus trine for both partners. There is a part of the relationship which is harmonious and easy, while another part is made of tension, attraction, but also repulsion and instability, both parts affecting the same area. The same holds true in actual life: the partners may argue, be happy, then split, etc. They may desire each other, feel mutually attracted, but also hate each other. This means that it is not possible to write the following equation: positive + negative = neutral. It is necessary that everything is mentioned, otherwise, the report would not be accurate. This is probably what you have read.

We have striven to achieve a high level of detail. Actually, texts with 4 or 5 stars are the most important ones. Those with 2 or 3 stars describe nuances which may not be perceived by everyone, or which are felt after some time. If you think that there are some 60 to 75 planetary inter-aspects between two persons, it is obvious that there will be a few contradictions if a high level of detail is to be reached. However, with some logical reasoning, you understand the hierarchy of their influence, and you can stand back in order to integrate them into your vision of things. This is the price for a sharp outline and therefore, the number of texts.

Regarding compatibility ratings, we have spent a great deal of time adjusting all the numerous parameters. These compatibility indexes show EASINESS, nothing more. They are nevertheless important, and if for instance you have 3/20 (15% rating), it is clear that you must carry out a synthesis of the texts and of the four indexes diagnosis. Indeed, even between two persons who experience tensions, there are positive aspects, which our programme "sees" and "tells".

For those who may not have the time or the patience to read everything, including the precautions we give, we have separated texts of major importance from more minor ones. We acknowledge the fact that too many texts may scare off those who do not have not enough time, or who do not feel like reading lengthy documents.

I cannot calculate my natal chart using your free offers. Why?

You need to enter your place of birth. This is a two-stage process. In the first step, the programme searches for your city in our database. Then, you must select it from the drop down list if several cities have the same name. For instance, Valence in Spain and Valence in France.

If our atlas does not recognise your location, restart the process from the beginning and enter a bigger city in the close neighbourhood.

Regarding the time, you must enter your legal birth time (current time without any correction). You can get it from a birth certificate issued by the town hall of your domicile, immediately if you go there, or if you send them a fax or a mail, at least in France.

Our database automatically makes all the necessary time zone corrections according to the country, the state, the date, and your birth coordinates (latitude/longitude). For all offers or orders, you must always enter the legal time.

Can I modify my account or delete it. Or create several accounts?

You can make any change you wish to your account, but you can create only one.

As on any website, you cannot delete it. Should you decide to do so, all you have to do is write us, and we will delete it for you.

Are the time and place of birth important for casting the natal chart or calculating compatibility ratings?

Yes they are, and they constitute the constant necessary condition in astrology. Without the time and place of birth, the precision of the natal chart and the calculation of compatibility ratings are less satisfactory.

It is worth underlining that astrology is based on the calculation of two objects, namely planets and houses. While planets move relatively slowly in a day, except the Moon who covers roughly 12 degrees per day, meaning almost half a sign, houses, and therefore the Ascendant, move by 1 degree every 4 minutes, that is to say one whole sign in two hours. Therefore, they cover the twelve signs in a day. The positions of the Moon and of the house cusps are quite important. The Moon describes your mood and the way your sensitivity plays out. The positions of the houses indicate the different areas of life in which our abilities are expressed and whether other planets increase or lessen a given influence. For instance, planets in an angle (1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th Houses, meaning the Ascendant, the Nadir, the Descendant, and the Midheaven) get special emphasis in the house where they are posited and therefore, have an impact on the personality. A fortiori, the same holds true for interactions between two natal charts.

In Chinese astrology, one considers that a natal chart remains the same within a stretch of time of two hours. For instance, all the people born between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. have the same chart and therefore, the same destiny pattern and character. If maximal reliability is to be achieved, it is also crucial here to have a precise birth date. In Western astrology, even a gap of 5 minutes in the time of birth has an impact, even though it is quite limited. Nevertheless, if one expects to get as many pieces of information as possible, one must have accurate birth data.

Regarding the calculation of compatibility indexes, if neither the time nor the location are available, discrepancies may be significant. The best thing to do would be to key in all the birth parameters and calculate the accurate index so as to get a reliable indication.

Does a low compatibility rating mean that we do not love each other very much?

No, definitely. Compatibility ratings describe the smoothness of exchanges between two persons, and by no means the intensity or the quality of their love.

This is similar to the fact that a natal chart cannot describe the level of spirituality of a person, only the ability to and interest in following a spiritual path, to some extent. It is common practice to consider that Enlightened persons (wise people having reached Reality) have transcended their chart, since it applies only to the "terrestrial" plane, whether manifested or "asleep", but this is a far-reaching topic...). Likewise, astrology has its limitations.

What happens between two persons in terms of essence is not "read" by astrology. We insist on the fact that astrology only gives a diagnosis of the SMOOTHNESS which both partners will experience in the relationship. Thus, if you get a marital compatibility index of 30% or 35%, it only means that you will need to show flexibility, to adjust, to evolve, and to look at your relationship from a non-egocentric angle. Finally, the quality of your couple will be enhanced in terms of complementary qualities and personal evolution.

It is obvious that it is all about limits and compromises. In an ideal situation, forces of cohesion and harmony stemming from each partner's efforts outdo and disintegrate the tensions that are unavoidable in any relationship. In brief, anything is possible with the passing of time, in most cases. Having said that, we believe that this information is highly valuable. This is the reason why we carry on our efforts in order to enhance our programmes.

Why have you not given the astrological interactions' references at the beginning of each text (aspects, houses, planets, etc.)?

This is the deliberate choice we made when we started. Many people are not interested in astrological jargon and prefer to read texts in plain English without being disoriented by technical vocabulary which they find hermetic. We have tried as much as possible to limit references to planets, houses, and astrological symbols. However, people who wish to know the reasoning behind any particular text can ask us by email, and we shall answer them with precision.

For your information, we also take into account minor bodies such as Chiron, Lilith, the Lunar Nodes, etc., but we have decided NOT to provide any text about interactions among them. They are included in the calculations of the four compatibility indexes, and therefore, they are active. But in order not to offend some people, karmic references and meanings of bodies which are still being researched are not displayed.

Do you use composite charts or mid-points? Or space-time charts?

No. Composite charts, as well as space-time charts belong more to the field of research, and it is dangerous to use them without circumspection. We fully agree with André Barbault that, like with solar revolutions, the utmost caution must be exercised.

One ought to be extremely wary of space-time midpoints. On Astrotheme, calculations of composite charts, mid-space mid-time are available.

What are the methods used to calculate compatibility indexes?

This is obviously our know-how, which dates back to over ten years, and we can only give general answers. We take into account the whole natal charts, all the planets from the Sun through to Pluto, as well as secondary bodies, namely the Lunar Nodes, the Black Moon, and Chiron. We also assess the axes and rulerships.

The programme carries out numerous weightings at different levels for these astrological objects, according to their respective importance. We assess the totality of the major and minor aspects accepted by the astrological community at large: conjunction, opposition, square, sextile, trine, quincunx, quintile, bi-quintile, semi-square, sesqui-square, and semi-sextile.

Lastly, relations calculated between these objects are systematically weighted according to their orb exactness. Thus, a loose conjunction with an orb of several degrees may be less active than a sextile with an orb of 30'. Our programmes have required a great deal of time and a host of tests. As of today, they are certainly outstanding in terms of rigorous, comprehensive, and exhaustive structure.

Our analysis is actually of the highest quality since we have included the entire set of rules manually used. We do not claim that we possess the absolute truth and the perfect tool, only that our method is enough sophisticated and serious to yield reliable results. The precision of those results is difficult to define, but we believe that it is satisfactory and that we can put it to public use, considering all the cases of couples we have studied. (Some 3 billion calculations of indexes were carried out by our visitors since the beginning.)

I am a professional astrologer. I attentively looked at the results given by your compatibility programmes, and I have noticed in some rare cases that two charts get a very high rating although the manual analysis shows a strong square between two personal planets. Are you sure that your programmes are reliable? Same question regarding blatant oppositions in both charts.

In some very rare cases, superimposing two charts reveals conjunctions or aspects of cluster which also coincide with the angles of one chart or both charts. This phenomenon mathematically strengthens the indexes' increase effects (or decrease in some cases). This may result in somehow "dimming" the negative or positive effects of an isolated aspect, whenever the planets forming the said aspect are not part of the cluster. Is such decrease or increase justified? The manual analysis of examples of this type has shown that the reactions of our programmes are justified in most cases. It seems to us normal to highlight important conjunctions and planetary clusters posited on crucial points of both charts. It is also normal that, consequently, separated aspects of tension have a lessened influence.

This matches a reality. Indeed, the hierarchy of influences existing between two charts is tricky to determine, but the programmes we have developed usually reflect the results which the astrologer gets by logical reasoning. The answer to these very few cases is that there may certainly be a slight artificial gap, but that it is not a significant one. The truth is that an additional personalised analysis remains the best way to get the best diagnosis. It is impossible to achieve absolute reliability. The challenge is to get as close as possible, and this is what we strive to do.

Regarding oppositions, we are convinced that most of them which are formed by non-contradictory planets are positive in synastry, and much better and enriching than the absence of aspects. Of course, the corresponding impact is less easy than with a conjunction, a trine, or a sextile, but it remains very ACTIVE. If both partners are willing to make a slight adaptation effort, and if no dissonance affects the opposition in question, the relationship gets accrued power, fullness, and above all, complementary qualities. Thus, compatibility ratings may be higher, and this is very normal. This is the general trend in the majority of the international astrological community, and our experience confirms that this is the correct hypothesis. The complementary factor is definitely positive in synastry, easier to deal with, which is not the case for oppositions in a natal chart.

Precisely, regarding the reliability of these four compatibility indexes, are they all equally rigorously calculated, or are there nuances?

We are convinced that the first four indexes fairly match reality. The whole set of rules (very numerous since we take into account ALL the factors, which means thousands of combinations weighted at several levels) dealing with marital compatibility (more of the type Sun, Moon, AS, etc. for the astrologers...), while the affective ones (more of the type Venus, Moon, Neptune, etc.), the physical ones (more of the type Mars, Pluto, Venus, Uranus, etc.), and communication (more of the type Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, etc.) are thoroughly assessed. After over a year of tests, we are happy with and amazed by the quality of our results.

Can you tell us more about the discrepancy issue (1 degree in your reports) when a planet is posited near a House cusp?

This question is about the localisation of energy knots in a chart, and according to the Tradition, those knots are some sort of attraction points for nearby planets.

It is unanimously acknowledged that the axes (AS, MC, DS, FC) are the most important points of the chart, more particularly the Ascendant and the Midheaven. The same principle applies to all house cusps, though less powerfully. Houses can be of three categories: angular houses which are particularly energetic (the axes we just mentioned), succedent houses (the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th House) sometimes called fixed houses, which are less strong, and cadent houses (the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th House) sometimes called mutable houses, which are the less active ones. Each house starts at a point called the cusp. Thus, the chart has 12 cusps radiating energy with different levels of intensity. The tradition considers that when a planet is close enough to a cusp, it is somehow caught by the said cusp and "jumps" into the corresponding house.

Let's suppose that the Ascendant is at 22° Virgo and that the Sun is at 20° of the same sign. Therefore, the Sun is posited in the 12th House. However, he is so close to the cusp of the 1st House (the Ascendant), that he is considered to be in the 1st House and not in the 12th House. The radiation, so to speak, of the cusp is so strong that a nearby planet becomes active in the house which starts at the said cusp. Besides, many authors consider that the variation in energy decreases more and more from the cusp (therefore, slightly before), similarly to signs, where the Sun at 1° Aries gives a "purer" Aries than the Sun at 29° Aries, etc. The question now is to find out the number of degrees within which a planet is deemed to belong to the next house. Some astrologers go as far as to accept an orb of 6 or 7 degrees, and some others only 1 or 2 degrees, or sometimes no shift at all. Sometimes, they make nuances depending on the houses involved and use a wider orb for the Ascendant or the Midheaven, etc.

In our programmes, we have decided to set this discrepancy to 1 degree because we think that it is a good compromise with the common practice. In addition, we have fine-tuned our work, using 2 degrees for the Ascendant and the Midheaven, and 1 degree for the other ten houses. To the best of our knowledge, there is no programme on the Internet which takes this discrepancy into account for the interpretation of charts. We have implemented this functionality in our programmes because we deem it very important. Actually, the level of the discrepancy is one of the adjustable parameters, even though we are content with the above-mentioned 1 and 2 degrees.

However, it is worth noting that this phenomenon plays out and becomes important only if you know your time of birth with great accuracy. Indeed, the 3 degree discrepancy corresponds to a gap of 12 minutes. If your birth time is not very precise, your astrological chart will provide only the meanings of your planets in signs. This also holds true for the comparison of charts, in which inter-aspects among planets will play out.

What is the purpose of your application calculating the compatibility with celebrities (the Celestar)? Is it free?

Yes, indeed. The Celestar is free and allows each visitor to do several operations :

compare oneself with a celebrity of one's choice, taking advantage of all the Calculator's functions by entering your time and place of birth (four compatibility indexes),

compare two celebrities and get their four compatibility indexes,

find celebrities' birth parameters, their photo if any, their sign and Ascendant, and very soon, all they birth data, with new additional functionalities (portrait, natal chart, etc.),

get the popularity ranking of famous people of our database, based on the number of searches requested. You can also see the 50 men and the 50 women who where the most "calculated" by our application,

get the list of the couples that are best-matched; in this way, each visitor contributes to add an additional calculation which is stored, if it has not already been done,

suggest a celebrity, send a photo, point to an error in names or in birth data, etc.